Vocal tract organs

Gestures of anatomically and functionally distinct constricting organs can serve to distinguish words:

• larynx (determines sound source)
• velum (shapes sound generated at larynx)
• oral constrictors: (shapes sound generated at larynx)
  • lips
  • tongue tip
  • tongue body

View Examples of Lip, Tongue Tip, Tongue Body Gestures

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English words can begin with combinations of Oral, Laryngeal and Velic constriction gestures.

The resulting combinations are usually analyzed as consonants or consonant segments.

In the chemical analogy, segments are like ions, combinations of atoms that recur in many molecules (words):

e.g., "mad" begins with combination of

Velic	Opening
Laryngeal	Narrowing
Oral	Labial

Same combination of gestures occurs at the beginning of:

mode, meter, mackerel, mambo....

There are four logical combinations of Laryngeal and Velic gestures. One does not occur in English. Which one?

What would it sound like if it did?

Example from Burmese 

Thus, from these gestures we can form 9 combinations in English.

One consonant in English has a Laryngeal Opening gesture, but no Velic or Oral gesture. Which one?

This gives us 10 consonants (counting the one that is a Laryngeal gesture only).

English obviously has a great many more consonants than that. Where do the rest come from?

The number of possible consonants is increased in two possible ways:

• A given oral constrictor can produce more than one type of constriction (differentiation of constrictions).
• Consonants may be composed of more than one oral constriction.

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